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Three small kingdoms all together could not possibly be more different. Neither could the people they produce. Despite their differences, Cleo, Jonas, Magnus, and Lucia all play a part in the story of magic and rebellion in the second book of Morgan Rhodes' Fallen Kingdom Series: Rebel Spring.
Cleo has watched all of her family destroyed and King Gaius has conquered her kingdom. Now, the three separate kingdoms have been merged into one, Mytica, under Gaius' control. He is determined to win over her people with ease rather than force, and isn't afraid to use her to get what he wants. When he announces she is no longer betrothed to Lord Aron, and will instead marry Gaius' son Magnus, Cleo can't imagine a more despicable husband than the man who killed the stableboy she had fallen in love with. For Magnus, who always does as his father tells him to, he knows he can't have who he truly loves, his adopted sister Lucia, so marrying Cleo is no more distasteful than anyone else he would have to marry.
Meanwhile, Jonas is created a rebel army to fight again Gaius and reclaim their kingdom. Unfortunately, he is having trouble getting many people to join a cause that will most likely get them killed, especially when the king seems to be making improvements to their lives, like a road that connects the former three kingdoms. While he isn't gaining rebels in droves, he certainly has a faithful few who want nothing more than to punish the new king. When they realize their small numbers need a large-scale action to take the king down, they really believe Cleo is the key to their success. All this takes place with Lucia, the hidden sorceress still in a coma after performing the magic her adoptive father called upon her for. But there is more to these four individuals than their individual hopes, desires, and vengeances. From vastly different backgrounds, they might have more in common than they ever thought possible.
I loved the first book in the series, and I really enjoyed this one too, but it certainly had a few slow parts that dragged a bit. I remember devouring the first book, but it wasn't difficult to put this one down here and there. While I still really liked it, that difference was pretty noticeable. There are a lot of hidden plot lines that haven't been fully realized even by the end of this second book, like the Watchers and the Kindred. While I have an idea, I think I have more questions than answers at this point. That isn't always pleasurable when you are 2/3 of the way through a trilogy, and I know it tends to lose my less focused readers pretty easily. Still, the story was pretty great, with those unanswered questions aside, and I couldn't help but get excited for the upcoming conclusion.
In the first book, Cleo and Jonas were the most intriguing characters for me, but there is something interesting about Magnus that I wanted to see more of. Is he despicable? Or just misunderstood? And the whole story of Lucia and the Watchers was unfortunately a little too confused for me, but Magnus was certainly the one who held my attention the most. The most interesting this about the entire story is how the magic is the entire focus of the series, yet it is always on the periphery. It brings this element of fantasy and mystery into the boundaries of the story and teases you along. That could either be fun or maddening depending on how you thought about it. I liked it, but I can imagine others who wouldn't!
Would you be able to hide the very nature of who you were? What if it meant an actual life vs. being used and abused until you died an untimely death? In Sara B. Larson's Defy, a young girl named Alexa must become Alex in order to stay alive in a world full of hate and corruption.
When their parents were killed by sorcerers, Marcel took his twin sister outside, cut her hair, and transformed her life. Had she stayed a girl, she would have been captured and taken to the breeding houses to produce more soldiers for the king's never-ending war. Marcel doomed Alex to a life of terrified hiding in plain sight, but he saved Alexa in the process. Now they train together, they are inseparable, and they are part of Prince Damien's guard. While it is hard to care much about an apathetic prince like Damien, Marcel and Alex are serious about the duty to protect him, even if his father is a monster who has destroyed the lives of every person in his own kingdoms and the kingdoms around them.
After an attempt on Damien's life, the king and his adviser, Iker, put a guard in Damien's room at night. When Alex is chosen for the detail, she is terrified he will notice things about her if he spends too much time in close proximity to her. Hiding the fact that she is a girl is paramount to survival in this world. Almost as much as hiding the fact that you are a sorcerer. When Damien asks Alex to deliver a message to a rebel camp not far from the palace, she realizes there are sorcerers all around them. While they assumed they were relatively safe inside the palace, a group sent to kidnap Damien changes that perception. Damien, Alex, and her only friend, Rylan, are taken by a group who means to end the war, even if it takes great sacrifice.
I really liked this story, but there were also some things I just didn't like. For instance, Alex is a by-the-book super-soldier who could fight better than any man on the prince's detail. She rocks. But when she is kidnapped and Damien and Rylan know her secret, she becomes a quivering pile of goop that ignores any attempt to save her prince and instead focuses on how much she wants to kiss Damien. Oh wait, now she wants to kiss Rylan. No, Damien! No, Rylan! Back and forth, back and forth. I don't mind love triangles, but I do mind when they distract from a really good story and the already established nature of a character, which it did with this story. I was so surprised by how much of the story this love triangle consumed, and if you plucked it out, the story would have been spectacular. I loved the history between the kingdoms, the surprising nature of Damien, how Alex had survived for so many years hidden as a boy, the sorcery, everything! But it felt overshadowed by the pining over two men, which directly defied the nature of Alex. She managed to keep her composure after the death of someone near and dear to her, but she couldn't control her lust for these two guys? It surprised and disappointed me.
That being said, I really liked this story. The love triangle was annoying, but I still really liked the world, the characters, the history, and the magic. There were twists and turns around every corner that were a little predictable, but fun nonetheless. I really look forward to the second book in the series, because there is so much left to be said and read. I think this "love triangle business" will fade away, because there is certainly one clear winner in that battle. But hopefully, like all good love triangles do, it will work itself out and leave you happiest with the solution. This was a fun fantasy for all types of readers. The language is average, but occasionally the material is pretty brutal, like what happens in the breeding houses. I would use this for older readers, but the language would make it appropriate for readers with struggling skills.
